Perry delivered a fiery keynote speech that took people to task for blaming parents or issues like race and poverty for students who fail in schools. Instead, he spent most of his more than hour-long speech targeting teachers unions across the country who he said are more concerned about their own missions than that of the students they teach.

“When a child comes to school virtually every day and comes out without a year’s worth of education, that can’t be their fault,” Perry said. “These $1 billion organizations, these political juggernauts, they’ve got people thinking all kinds of silly things. That there’s something wrong with your house, that there’s something wrong with your child. That poor neighborhoods can’t have good schools. That black neighborhoods can’t have good schools.

“What the teachers unions would have us believe is that these children of ours are uneducatable. Because to think anything else would mean that each one of the members would have to own responsibility. They would have to say ‘I just didn’t do my job.’ ”

Perry’s speech capped off a night of celebration at Cliffbreakers Riverside Resort, 700 W. Riverside Blvd. RAMM members honored 27 local high school seniors who have demonstrated outstanding leadership through academic achievement and community service and who plan to attend a two-year or four-year college.

Officials said 63 students applied for the scholarships this year. Including this year’s funds, RAMM has awarded more than $700,000 to 500 African-American high school graduates since its founding in 1980.

Eighty percent of those students have graduated from college and 20 percent have returned to the Rockford community after graduating.

This was RAMM’s 29th annual banquet, and more than 700 people attended the event. There were plenty of proud parents, relatives and friends who cheered on students and Perry’s speech.

Steve Thomas said the RAMM scholarship means a lot for his son, Steven Thomas. All of the scholarship winners wore medals hanging from red ribbons around their necks and welcomed guests at the door, helping them to their seats.

“I’m proud of him tonight, but I’m proud of him all the time,” Thomas said. “He’s overcome a lot of obstacles in his life to be here tonight, and he has maintained.”

Colbi Money, an 18-year-old senior at East High School, plans to attend Hampton University to study psychology and education after graduation. She was excited to be in the company of her fellow scholarship winners Friday night and was very thankful of the RAMM members who allowed her to be there.

“This is a very elite organization, and I’m just excited that they are believing in my dreams and my goals,” Money said.

Money’s mother, Andrea Parks, echoed her daughter’s pride in being a RAMM scholar.

“I’ve always tried to teach her to be a part of something to see what’s going on,” Parks said.

“You have to be active. And she grew up knowing that college would be the option for her.”

Perry met with the scholars before the banquet started and talked to them about paying their success forward. He is the author of the book “Raggedy Schools: The Untold Truth,” and he founded a college preparation program for low-income minority students in Connecticut.

He’s also a regular commentator on CNN and was featured in the CNN documentary, “Black in America 2.”

“This group of adults has seen something in you that they feel is going to improve the community,” Perry said. “You’re not just being given money tonight. What you’re doing is being given the nod. The nod is them saying that they see something in you that’s powerful, that can create opportunities for other people, that can inspire young and old, and can do more than make a living but make a life.”

2010 RAMM scholars
Note: The college and career choices for the 2010 RAMM scholars represents preliminary information collected by the RAMM organization nearly a month ago. Some of the schools and majors may have changed.